FC Bayern’s surprising home defeat against FC Augsburg has sparked debate – but Max Kruse has no doubts about the record champions‘ fundamental strength
The 2-1 defeat to FCA on the 19th Bundesliga matchday was Munich’s first league defeat of the season, snapping a run of 27 Bundesliga games without defeat at home in the Allianz Arena of all places. The setback came as a surprise to many observers, but for former international Max Kruse it is no cause for concern
„I think everyone knew that Bayern would lose at some point during the season,“ explained Kruse as an RTL pundit on Saturday evening. Although he was surprised by the timing, the fundamental classification was clear: „At home against Augsburg was not the game in which you would expect Bayern to lose.“
Kruse sees no structural break
Nevertheless, the 37-year-old does not believe there will be any lasting consequences for the German record champions. „I don’t think there will be a collapse at Bayern because they are dominant up front in the end,“ Kruse continued. For him, it was a classic slip-up – possibly even with a positive effect: „It was just one game that they lost – perhaps at the right time to sharpen their senses now.“
Looking ahead to the rest of the season, Kruse believes Munich have a clear advantage. The quality of the squad, the dominance of the game and the experience in the title race clearly speak in favour of FCB. His prediction is correspondingly clear: „In the end, FC Bayern will clearly be champions anyway.“
In fact, the defeat hardly matters in terms of the table. Despite Borussia Dortmund’s clear 3-0 win at Union Berlin, Bayern’s lead is still a comfortable eight points. For Kruse, this is further proof that there is no cause for alarm
„Munich will continue to dominate and win their important games,“ the former Bundesliga striker is certain. Individual setbacks are normal in the course of the season: „A faux pas like this can happen, but Bayern are too stable to collapse now.“
Many changes, little rhythm
Vincent Kompany made a lot of changes against FC Augsburg compared to the 2-0 win against Royale Union Saint-Gilloise in the Champions League. Four new players – Jonas Urbig, Hiroki Ito, Leon Goretzka and Alphonso Davies – were in the starting XI. Particularly striking: Davies made his first starting XI comeback since suffering a cruciate ligament rupture in March – albeit as an unfamiliar right-back
Ito put Bayern ahead after a corner before Augsburg turned the game around in the closing stages with goals from Arthur Chaves and Han-Noah Massengo. A rare moment of disarray for the league leaders – but nothing more, at least from Max Kruse’s point of view
Despite the defeat, Bayern remain the clear favorites for the championship, and if Kruse has his way, the setback against Augsburg was one thing above all: a brief warning shot – nothing more and nothing less.